"2569-07" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 7 - The Dularnian Queen)2569 A.D.! THE DULARNIAN QUEEN AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Seven "The last time that I came here my `welcome' wasn't too pleasant," Lorraine Richards said to me as I took her hands in my own. That had been four years ago, when my late husband had tak- en it upon himself to shoot her while she was under a flag of truce. I had immediately killed him for such a "breach" of the Code of Honor, but Lorraine had barely "survived" the wound, the bullet having struck close to her heart, almost killing her then! For a time I had felt "close" to her, but later she had again be- come the fearsome Imperial Warlady, a tool of Darlanis' ambition. "I hope this time it will be better," I smiled back, the Im- perial Warlady's dark eyes meeting mine. Unlike with Darlanis, I felt a sense of "fear" of this woman, her total absolute "domi- nance" like an aura that seemed to radiate from her as she stood there. Even five months pregnant, her belly swollen, she still seemed to give the impression that single handed she could have conquered Dularn itself. She is a "legend", said by many to be the greatest swordswoman of all time, a Warrioress beyond compare although I believe this last is not true, as Carol did manage to outwit her there in Trelandar, although only "tactically" as I do have no doubt that Lorraine was the superior military commander. "I have just come from Porlan," Lorraine spoke, her husband, Jon Richards, Admiral of the Imperial Navy, standing just behind. The emotional feelings I felt at seeing him again something that I hoped Lorraine would not "sense", as I didn't need to make any more "trouble" for myself than what I was doubtlessly into here! Once long ago we were lovers, but he wished another, a slim dark haired woman of the Physicians, who he later married. The "fact" that Lorraine herself is "slim", dark haired perhaps indicates he prefers that sort of a woman, although I suspect that my own am- bitions at that time of making "something" of myself had quite a bit to do with things. In my early years I was a bit of a bitch. "Darlanis and I have `resolved' our `difficulties'," Sharon quickly "volunteered", the Empress herself no doubt sweating a bit here considering what she had just "done" to the young Queen! It was a rather "nice" day, the sun shining in a clear blue sky. "Saint Patrick's Day" I'm told, March 17th, the year being 2569 as those of the "past" used to measure it so many centuries ago. "I am `pleased'," Lorraine smiled, standing there before us. "The `stories' I heard in Porlan did make me rather `concerned'," she added, her dark brown eyes seeming to "burn" into my own now. There is a "total dominance" about her that is hard to describe. Even "here" in Dularn, my own people surrounding me, my palace there behind me, I felt like a naughty slave girl who should be kneeling down at her mistress' feet and begging her forgiveness! It is, I think, partly her "attire", usually black silk and leather, the high black leather spike heeled boots she wears, the long flowing skirt, the leather vest and trappings, the hats, the veil that conceals the "harshness" of her features. She is not a beautiful woman, although I suspect Jon considers her attractive. Then there are the "legends", the story of a woman who stood be- fore an Imperial Legion commanded by Princess Tara, raised up a weapon from another world, and caused them all to retreat in fear of "what" stood there before them. I remember the duel between her and Carol, of whose skills with a sword I took such pride in. I saw Lorraine "play" with the woman, then cut her face when she grew "tired" of such "play". She is truly a "WARLADY" in the full sense of the term. The greatest fighting woman of all time! "Did Sharon request `asylum' when she came here?" Lorraine suddenly spoke. I shook my head in the negative, "aware" here of the implications of what she had said. It being obvious that the extremely "competent" Imperial Warlady doubtless "knew" the full details of what had "occurred" there in Porlan! "Would you have `granted it' had she `requested' it?" Lorraine asked. I silently nodded in reply, "aware" of no one but the woman there before me! "It would have been the `end' of the Empire if you had, Ma- ris," Lorraine said then, standing there a few feet away from me. "For `better or for worse', the Empire of California would have been no more," she continued, her eyes burning right into my own! "The `end' of a civilization based upon ideals I gave to a woman who died over five hundred years ago," the Queen of Trelandar now said to me. "A return to earlier ideals of men who lived back in the Eighteenth Century when life was much `simpler' than now." I could feel the cold breath of the breeze on my cheek, the warmth of the sun as it beamed down upon us, saw the way that the wind moved little strands of Lorraine's hair, saw the rise and fall of her girlish bosom beneath her clothing, looked into eyes that seemed to speak to me of ages now only dusty musty history!! I knew that I was surrounded by people, both Dularnian and from Darlanis' and Sharon's own ships, but just then there was but two women standing there facing each other, with only "ghosts" of the past for company. Thomas Jefferson, Tom Paine, others beside me, while beside Lorraine stood Janet Rogers herself, her own "child" in a way, Lorraine having been the "mother" of a civilization we now "studied" in school, read about in books, some to "admire" while others saw it only as the last gasp of a technocratic soci- ety that had died in fire, burned to ashes never to ever return. "There is," I said to her, "Something more `important' than the survival of civilizations, something that `separates' us from the beasts that roam the forests, the creatures of the seas. A `concept' if you will that separates the `civilized' from those who know only the cut of the sword, the flight of the arrow." I saw Lorraine nod, her eyes gleam into mine as she nodded in turn. "Perhaps there is `hope' yet for you, Maris of Sana," the Imperial Warlady smiled, "extending" her hand, taking mine in it. "And this time we won't make the `mistakes' that we did before." "You remind me of a cat with kittens," I smiled to Tori as my captain of the Royal Guard checked on her guardswomen to see that everything was "perfect". Tori is a very "competent" woman, if a bit of a "perfectionist" in some ways about her guardswomen. Taking "pains" to see that I never had any reason for complaint about them. She was "strict", but "fair" I knew in her command. "All we `need' is one `incident'," she answered, her dark brown eyes meeting mine as I nodded understandingly in reply now. There were a lot of people here in Arsana alone who had no love for either Darlanis or Lorraine, and Prince Serak of the Nevadas was an arch enemy of the Wyomings, which only added to Tori's own problems of seeing that nothing happened to anyone under her pro- tection. We had already had a "problem" last night with some drunken sailors off the Athena and Sarnian Lady, the "charge" of rape the barmaid had issued against one of the sailors off Sarni- an Lady something that would require the most delicate of han- dling. The man maintained that he believed she was a prostitute, which the woman might have "been" despite the fact she was not a member of the "Guild", there being a number of "free lancers" who refused to pay the "dues" that the Prostitute Guild required of its members. The investigating guardsmen had told Tori that the woman's skirt was as "short" as any "hip swinger's", and that it was known that she did at times "sell" her "favors" to men. This last in my opinion indicating that she probably "was" what the Imperial sailor had maintained she was, although I thought it was rather "stupid" of him not to determine her true "status" before he had sexual intercourse with her there up above the bar room... Especially as I understood she had not gone "willingly" with him! "What do you `think' of that `incident' last night?" I said to Tori as she finished checking her women's appearance to see it was as "good" as it could be. Darlanis had her own "guardswomen" with her, as did Sharon, and we also now had Lorraine's too, all of whom of course had their first loyalties to their own monarch. "Rape is rape, even if the woman is a prostitute," Tori said in level tones, as if she thought that I wouldn't agree with her. "Even a prostitute has the right to refuse sex if she wants to." The sailor in question having stated that the barmaid had refused to accept his money, claiming that she'd never consented to "it"! "The city guardsmen who interviewed her said that her skirt was way up to `here'," I smiled, indicating the "spot" on my own thighs. Such a skirt would have been only a few inches below my crotch. Those of prostitutes are often of that "height", I knew. "A lot of barmaids wear short skirts," Tori replied, "And not always of their own free will either," she pointed out to me. It not being uncommon for the owners of such "establishments" to require his barmaids to wear such attire or go find another job. "We need `laws' to protect a woman from having to `dress' like a prostitute or a slave girl in order to keep a job," Tori snapped! The tone of her voice leaving much "unspoken" just then, I mused! "That is a rather `interesting' idea, if not all that `mod- ern'," I smiled back, the "look" on Tori's attractive face just then leaving no doubts that she would have voiced an "answer" to my own "comment" in return had I not "been" the Queen of Dularn. "No doubt your majesty has `considered' such matters in the past," she answered, the tone of her voice indicating what her opinion was! An opinion, I knew that has been "shared" by many judging by the "reading" I'd done during the cold winter months! "Do you have half an hour `free'?" I asked, there being only one answer that Tori could give to that, considering "who" I was. "As your majesty wishes," Tori smiled, seeing me nod back... 2569 A.D.! THE DULARNIAN QUEEN AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Seven "The last time that I came here my `welcome' wasn't too pleasant," Lorraine Richards said to me as I took her hands in my own. That had been four years ago, when my late husband had tak- en it upon himself to shoot her while she was under a flag of truce. I had immediately killed him for such a "breach" of the Code of Honor, but Lorraine had barely "survived" the wound, the bullet having struck close to her heart, almost killing her then! For a time I had felt "close" to her, but later she had again be- come the fearsome Imperial Warlady, a tool of Darlanis' ambition. "I hope this time it will be better," I smiled back, the Im- perial Warlady's dark eyes meeting mine. Unlike with Darlanis, I felt a sense of "fear" of this woman, her total absolute "domi- nance" like an aura that seemed to radiate from her as she stood there. Even five months pregnant, her belly swollen, she still seemed to give the impression that single handed she could have conquered Dularn itself. She is a "legend", said by many to be the greatest swordswoman of all time, a Warrioress beyond compare although I believe this last is not true, as Carol did manage to outwit her there in Trelandar, although only "tactically" as I do have no doubt that Lorraine was the superior military commander. "I have just come from Porlan," Lorraine spoke, her husband, Jon Richards, Admiral of the Imperial Navy, standing just behind. The emotional feelings I felt at seeing him again something that I hoped Lorraine would not "sense", as I didn't need to make any more "trouble" for myself than what I was doubtlessly into here! Once long ago we were lovers, but he wished another, a slim dark haired woman of the Physicians, who he later married. The "fact" that Lorraine herself is "slim", dark haired perhaps indicates he prefers that sort of a woman, although I suspect that my own am- bitions at that time of making "something" of myself had quite a bit to do with things. In my early years I was a bit of a bitch. "Darlanis and I have `resolved' our `difficulties'," Sharon quickly "volunteered", the Empress herself no doubt sweating a bit here considering what she had just "done" to the young Queen! It was a rather "nice" day, the sun shining in a clear blue sky. "Saint Patrick's Day" I'm told, March 17th, the year being 2569 as those of the "past" used to measure it so many centuries ago. "I am `pleased'," Lorraine smiled, standing there before us. "The `stories' I heard in Porlan did make me rather `concerned'," she added, her dark brown eyes seeming to "burn" into my own now. There is a "total dominance" about her that is hard to describe. Even "here" in Dularn, my own people surrounding me, my palace there behind me, I felt like a naughty slave girl who should be kneeling down at her mistress' feet and begging her forgiveness! It is, I think, partly her "attire", usually black silk and leather, the high black leather spike heeled boots she wears, the long flowing skirt, the leather vest and trappings, the hats, the veil that conceals the "harshness" of her features. She is not a beautiful woman, although I suspect Jon considers her attractive. Then there are the "legends", the story of a woman who stood be- fore an Imperial Legion commanded by Princess Tara, raised up a weapon from another world, and caused them all to retreat in fear of "what" stood there before them. I remember the duel between her and Carol, of whose skills with a sword I took such pride in. I saw Lorraine "play" with the woman, then cut her face when she grew "tired" of such "play". She is truly a "WARLADY" in the full sense of the term. The greatest fighting woman of all time! "Did Sharon request `asylum' when she came here?" Lorraine suddenly spoke. I shook my head in the negative, "aware" here of the implications of what she had said. It being obvious that the extremely "competent" Imperial Warlady doubtless "knew" the full details of what had "occurred" there in Porlan! "Would you have `granted it' had she `requested' it?" Lorraine asked. I silently nodded in reply, "aware" of no one but the woman there before me! "It would have been the `end' of the Empire if you had, Ma- ris," Lorraine said then, standing there a few feet away from me. "For `better or for worse', the Empire of California would have been no more," she continued, her eyes burning right into my own! "The `end' of a civilization based upon ideals I gave to a woman who died over five hundred years ago," the Queen of Trelandar now said to me. "A return to earlier ideals of men who lived back in the Eighteenth Century when life was much `simpler' than now." I could feel the cold breath of the breeze on my cheek, the warmth of the sun as it beamed down upon us, saw the way that the wind moved little strands of Lorraine's hair, saw the rise and fall of her girlish bosom beneath her clothing, looked into eyes that seemed to speak to me of ages now only dusty musty history!! I knew that I was surrounded by people, both Dularnian and from Darlanis' and Sharon's own ships, but just then there was but two women standing there facing each other, with only "ghosts" of the past for company. Thomas Jefferson, Tom Paine, others beside me, while beside Lorraine stood Janet Rogers herself, her own "child" in a way, Lorraine having been the "mother" of a civilization we now "studied" in school, read about in books, some to "admire" while others saw it only as the last gasp of a technocratic soci- ety that had died in fire, burned to ashes never to ever return. "There is," I said to her, "Something more `important' than the survival of civilizations, something that `separates' us from the beasts that roam the forests, the creatures of the seas. A `concept' if you will that separates the `civilized' from those who know only the cut of the sword, the flight of the arrow." I saw Lorraine nod, her eyes gleam into mine as she nodded in turn. "Perhaps there is `hope' yet for you, Maris of Sana," the Imperial Warlady smiled, "extending" her hand, taking mine in it. "And this time we won't make the `mistakes' that we did before." "You remind me of a cat with kittens," I smiled to Tori as my captain of the Royal Guard checked on her guardswomen to see that everything was "perfect". Tori is a very "competent" woman, if a bit of a "perfectionist" in some ways about her guardswomen. Taking "pains" to see that I never had any reason for complaint about them. She was "strict", but "fair" I knew in her command. "All we `need' is one `incident'," she answered, her dark brown eyes meeting mine as I nodded understandingly in reply now. There were a lot of people here in Arsana alone who had no love for either Darlanis or Lorraine, and Prince Serak of the Nevadas was an arch enemy of the Wyomings, which only added to Tori's own problems of seeing that nothing happened to anyone under her pro- tection. We had already had a "problem" last night with some drunken sailors off the Athena and Sarnian Lady, the "charge" of rape the barmaid had issued against one of the sailors off Sarni- an Lady something that would require the most delicate of han- dling. The man maintained that he believed she was a prostitute, which the woman might have "been" despite the fact she was not a member of the "Guild", there being a number of "free lancers" who refused to pay the "dues" that the Prostitute Guild required of its members. The investigating guardsmen had told Tori that the woman's skirt was as "short" as any "hip swinger's", and that it was known that she did at times "sell" her "favors" to men. This last in my opinion indicating that she probably "was" what the Imperial sailor had maintained she was, although I thought it was rather "stupid" of him not to determine her true "status" before he had sexual intercourse with her there up above the bar room... Especially as I understood she had not gone "willingly" with him! "What do you `think' of that `incident' last night?" I said to Tori as she finished checking her women's appearance to see it was as "good" as it could be. Darlanis had her own "guardswomen" with her, as did Sharon, and we also now had Lorraine's too, all of whom of course had their first loyalties to their own monarch. "Rape is rape, even if the woman is a prostitute," Tori said in level tones, as if she thought that I wouldn't agree with her. "Even a prostitute has the right to refuse sex if she wants to." The sailor in question having stated that the barmaid had refused to accept his money, claiming that she'd never consented to "it"! "The city guardsmen who interviewed her said that her skirt was way up to `here'," I smiled, indicating the "spot" on my own thighs. Such a skirt would have been only a few inches below my crotch. Those of prostitutes are often of that "height", I knew. "A lot of barmaids wear short skirts," Tori replied, "And not always of their own free will either," she pointed out to me. It not being uncommon for the owners of such "establishments" to require his barmaids to wear such attire or go find another job. "We need `laws' to protect a woman from having to `dress' like a prostitute or a slave girl in order to keep a job," Tori snapped! The tone of her voice leaving much "unspoken" just then, I mused! "That is a rather `interesting' idea, if not all that `mod- ern'," I smiled back, the "look" on Tori's attractive face just then leaving no doubts that she would have voiced an "answer" to my own "comment" in return had I not "been" the Queen of Dularn. "No doubt your majesty has `considered' such matters in the past," she answered, the tone of her voice indicating what her opinion was! An opinion, I knew that has been "shared" by many judging by the "reading" I'd done during the cold winter months! "Do you have half an hour `free'?" I asked, there being only one answer that Tori could give to that, considering "who" I was. "As your majesty wishes," Tori smiled, seeing me nod back... |
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